United Nations in 2004

The year 2004 was marked by tense relations between the United Nations and the United States, the world body’s largest financial contributor. Much of the discontent on both sides centred on the situation in Iraq and the lack of security there. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s refusal to send more UN staff members into such an insecure environment greatly frustrated the administration of U.S. Pres. George W. Bush. The security situation had deteriorated substantially since the bombing in August 2003 of the UN compound in Baghdad that killed 22 UN staff members, and November 2004 was one of the deadliest months since the U.S. invasion began, in terms of both coalition forces and civilian casualties.

Tempers flared in November when Annan sent a letter to Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi (seeBiographies) warning that the planned military assault against insurgents in Fallujah might jeopardize the credibility of the upcoming January 2005 elections. This incident followed on the heels of an earlier one in which Annan, in an interview with the BBC in September, had irritated U.S. and British officials by suggesting that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq had contravened the UN Charter.

As the year closed, disagreement centred on the deployment of UN personnel to assist in the preparations for the planned January 2005 elections. While pledging the UN’s full support for the governance process in Iraq, Annan remained firm that for such support to be feasible, UN personnel had to be secure from violence. The situation that existed through late 2004 simply did not meet that condition.

Iraq

The year commenced on a high note following the capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003. As 2004 wore on, however, it became clear that allegations regarding stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction simply were not to be substantiated, nor, for that matter, were claims of the U.S. and British governments that the Saddam regime had supported al-Qaeda. It was evident that it would be extremely difficult for the occupying U.S.-led coalition force to restore security and governance to the country. In April President Bush and Prime Minister Blair endorsed a proposal for the UN effort to establish an Iraqi interim government. The new regime took office on June 28.

Human security in Iraq had declined dramatically since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Malnutrition among children had nearly doubled, and the situation was worsened by poor sanitation, unsafe drinking water, lack of electrical power, and armed violence. In the fall of 2004, about one-quarter of the Iraqi population still relied on food rations, and about 40% of the members of this group were forced to sell at least part of their rations for other necessities. Despite the extremely dangerous conditions, UN relief agencies, such as UNICEF, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Migration Organization (IMO), continued to play an important role in providing humanitarian assistance. Faced with increased violence and declining security, the United States announced on December 1 that it would increase the size of its military force to 150,000 troops by the end of the year.

Afghanistan

On October 9 presidential elections were held for the first time in Afghanistan. They had been postponed from the originally scheduled date in June. Amid allegations of voting irregularities, Afghani interim president Hamid Karzai was declared the victor, and he was officially inaugurated in December. Parliamentary elections were scheduled for April 2005. The security situation in the country continued to be somewhat precarious, with the persistence of problems related to drug trafficking, the demobilization of militias, and the traditional divisions among warlords. Secretary-General Annan urged the Security Council and the General Assembly to address these and other sources of insecurity and to consider an increase in the UN’s presence and assistance.

Iran

Much of the year was characterized by contention between the Iranian government and the UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and U.S. officials over the issue of uranium enrichment and other nuclear activities in Iran. In November an agreement concerning these issues was reached between European countries and the Iranian government; Iranian officials announced that they had halted all uranium-enrichment measures and would permit inspectors to verify compliance with IAEA safeguards. The IAEA, in turn, reported that it had accounted for all the declared nuclear material in Iran.

Development

The heads of state and government at the Millennium Summit in 2000 had set forth a declaration that contained eight primary goals, called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), for eradicating extreme poverty and the conditions associated with it by 2015. As the year 2004 came to a close, the international community was not on target for attaining any of the goals. The situation in the less-developed countries was particularly bad—half of the world’s population continued to subsist on incomes of less than $2 a day. How to get and keep the MDGs process on track was to be the main focus of a special summit meeting scheduled to be held at the convening of the 60th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2005.

On a more positive note, the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects 2005 report indicated that it was both the best of times and the worst of times for less-developed countries, depending on where they were located within the world economy. The overall economic growth rate for less-developed countries, led by spectacular increases in China and India, was 6.1%. At the same time, however, most of sub-Saharan Africa lagged far behind.

Health

HIV/AIDS remained at the top of the health agenda of the international community. The pandemic was widely recognized as much more than a global health crisis. It posed a tremendous threat to social, economic, and political stability and thus had become a top global security issue.

The UN systemwide response was led by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a collaborative program that brought together 10 UN cosponsoring agencies. The primary role of UNAIDS had been that of advocate, technical adviser, coordinator, and catalyst. Its 2004 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic gave a sobering account of the ever-increasing toll of AIDS. (SeeHealth and Disease.) In January the Kaiser Family Foundation joined UNAIDS in launching a new Global Media AIDS Initiative. The aim was to engage the media more fully in the fight against HIV/AIDS by focusing on increasing education and public awareness of the disease. The theme for the 2004 World AIDS Campaign was “Women, Girls, HIV, and AIDS.” UNAIDS also initiated the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS.

To complement UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) had been established in 2002 to mobilize, generate, and disperse additional funds to fight the pandemic. In 2004 GFATM approved $1.6 billion for two years and a total of $5 billion for more than five years. These sums paled in comparison with the projected cost of mounting an effective and successful campaign. UNAIDS, for example, estimated that $7 billion–$10 billion would be required annually for fighting AIDS in low- and middle-income countries.

Refugees

As of Jan. 1, 2004, there were about 17.1 million “persons of concern” who fell under the mandate of UNHCR, as compared with 20.6 million the previous year. Well over half of these persons were officially classified as refugees. The vast majority of them were located in Asia, Africa, and Europe, and Asia accounted for the largest number.

Peace Operations

At the end of the year, there were 18 peace missions operating under UN auspices. Sixteen were peacekeeping operations—seven in Africa (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Western Sahara), one in the Western Hemisphere (Haiti), two in Asia (East Timor and India-Pakistan), three in Europe (Cyprus, Georgia, and Kosovo), and three in the Middle East (Golan Heights, Lebanon, and the Middle East in general). In addition, there were two political missions, in Afghanistan and The Sudan. As of November 30 there were 63,909 military personnel and civilian police and 3,983 international civilian personnel serving in these operations, at an annual cost of nearly $4 billion.

Renewed fighting broke out in Haiti in early February, and by month’s end embattled Pres. Jean-Bertrand Aristide had resigned and fled the country. The new interim government turned to the United Nations and requested assistance in stabilizing the situation. The UN Security Council responded and authorized the creation of the Multilateral Interim Force (MIF). The situation in Haiti worsened after the island country was ravaged by Tropical Storm Jeanne, which caused more than 1,500 deaths and left more than 200,000 homeless. Given the situation, China pledged to send 125 police officers, China’s first-ever contribution to assist in a UN peace mission in the Western Hemisphere.

In February the Security Council enhanced the UN presence in strife-torn Côte d’Ivoire and established a peacekeeping operation in an effort to reinforce the peace process that was evolving there. In the final months of the year, however, it became clear that the process had broken down. Government troops launched attacks against French peacekeepers and rebel forces in the UN-patrolled “zone of confidence.” In an effort to restore peace, the Security Council voted unanimously to institute an arms embargo, and it threatened economic sanctions against the regime of Pres. Laurent Gbagbo. Also in the region, the Security Council in December reinforced its previous decision to place sanctions on Liberia. The sanctions restricted trade in lumber and diamonds because profits from such trade had been used to fund violence in the region.

Civil strife raged in Darfur, in The Sudan, throughout most of the year. Janjawid militias wreaked havoc on civilians while the Sudanese government failed to act to restrain them. It was estimated that more than 70,000 people had died by early October. The UN Security Council in September called for the African Union (AU) to enhance its monitoring mission in Darfur and threatened sanctions if the Sudanese government failed to comply fully with measures to end the violence by militia forces or to cooperate fully with the AU. The Security Council took the rare step of holding a two-day session in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 18–19 to discuss the Darfur matter and to meet with AU representatives.

Digital Divide

The revolution in information and communication technology, which was propelling globalization, had led to what many termed a “digital divide” between technological haves and have-nots. A crucial issue was that of determining how to bridge the divide and make the digital revolution work for all peoples. Heads of state and their representatives met on Dec. 10–12, 2003, in Geneva for the first phase of the three-year plan of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Some progress appeared to have been made in pulling together a consensus on key principles. A plan of action was agreed upon that specified principal goals, objectives, targets, and priorities. Few real commitments ensued, however, and disagreement prevailed on several key issues, including who should govern the Internet and how the bridging of the gap would be funded. These and other critical issues were to be the focus of the second phase of the WSIS, which was to convene in Tunis, Tun., in 2005.

Administration and Finance

At the end of 2004, there were 191 UN member states, and the regular biennial budget for 2004–05 stood at more than $3.1 billion. As had been the case for years, some 40% of the UN members were in arrears in paying their dues. The peacekeeping budget approved for fiscal year 2004–05 was $3.9 billion.

Several scandals rocked the halls of UN headquarters. Foremost among them was the alleged corruption that surrounded the UN’s oil-for-food program in Iraq. To investigate the allegations, an Independent Inquiry Committee chaired by Paul Volcker, former head of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, was appointed. The committee had not completed its inquiry by year’s end.

Controversy surrounding allegations of harassment and favouritism by several senior UN staff members, together with allegations of sexual abuse by a number of UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, fueled dissent within the Secretariat. On November 19 Secretary-General Annan confirmed that clear evidence existed of sexual abuse in the DRC, and he expressed his outrage at the conduct of those who were involved and pledged that appropriate action would be taken. While expressing their continuing support for Annan, the UN staff union passed a resolution harshly criticizing senior management for its failure to discipline high-level officials for their misbehaviour.

Reform

In December a report entitled A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility was issued by the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. This blue-ribbon panel report contained 101 recommendations for improving the capabilities of the UN to respond to shared threats. The recommendations covered a wide array of issues, proposed rules, and guidelines for the use of force. It offered recommendations for ways to increase the UN’s ability to engage in peace enforcement and peacekeeping, postconflict peace building, and the protection of civilians during conflict. Nearly one-third of the recommendations focused on concrete steps to reform the institutional structure of the UN to make it more effective. With regard to the launching of preemptive war, the panel reiterated the importance of ensuring Security Council authorization for all such actions and offered a series of guidelines under which the Security Council might act rapidly and proactively to authorize states to deal with critical threats such as terrorism or the use of weapons of mass destruction. The panel offered a definition of terrorism to guide both collective and individual state action. Foremost among the recommendations for institutional reform was a proposal to enlarge the Security Council from 15 to 24 members. The panel offered two options, neither of which would expand the veto power. One option would create six new permanent seats without veto power and three nonpermanent rotating seats. The other option would provide eight four-year renewable nonpermanent seats and one new two-year nonrenewable nonpermanent seat. The report was to serve as the foundation for recommendations to be made at the high-level plenary meeting of heads of state and government to be hosted in September 2005 at the commencement of the 60th session of the General Assembly.